


tender

by earlgrey_milktea



Series: milktea's saso2017 fills [15]
Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, Prompt Fill, Relationship Study, slight injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 08:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11203797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgrey_milktea/pseuds/earlgrey_milktea
Summary: mihashi patches abe up. it's quiet.





	tender

**Author's Note:**

> original prompt card [here](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/22249.html?thread=11649513#cmt11649513)
> 
> C1: **tending to the other's injury**

Ren keeps his eyes on the little cotton swabs in his hand, carefully dabbing at the scrapes on Abe’s knee. They’re sitting in the bathroom, first-aid kit spread out on the floor while Abe perches on the bathtub and Ren kneels in front of him.

“I can do it myself,” Abe says again.

Ren picks out the bits of gravel still stuck within the cuts, and Abe doesn’t quite manage to hold back his winces of pain. “I’m helping Abe-kun,” Ren says.

“Yeah,” sighs Abe. He sits still, shifting his leg to allow Ren a better view. Silence falls between them again.

It was a nasty fall he took, and a rather stupid one, too, in Ren’s opinion. Abe would probably argue differently. But Ren doesn't have the heart or energy to argue with the other boy—he never did, never does. Especially not over something like this. It’s Ren’s fault, really, he should have checked before he crossed the street but it was a small back road and anyway, it’s not like any of the cars around here go very fast. And the driver saw him, Ren knows this because the car slowed. But Abe, stupidly brave and caring and self-sacrificing Abe, had to run after Ren to shove him out of the way, only to end up hurt himself.

Ren keeps his face down because he doesn’t want Abe to see the ugly scowl on his face. The more he replays the accident, the more angry he is. Ren’s not used to feeling this way. He doesn’t like it at all.

The cotton swabs and Abe’s knee start to go blurry. Ren pulls away, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He presses his lips tightly together to keep any sounds from escaping.

Abe shifts on the bathtub. “Mihashi...?”

Ren keeps quiet.

A few moments pass like that, the both of them unable to find the right words. Ren throws out the cotton swabs, trades them for the proper salve and bandages. He works methodically, keeping his touch gentle but firm. His hands don’t shake, but his lower lip does. 

“Mihashi,” Abe says, and Ren pauses with his hands on the bandages. “Are you angry at me?”

“N-No.”

“Mihashi.”

Ren squeezes his eyes shut. “Yes!” he bursts out. “I’m angry at Abe-kun! For risking a bigger injury, for getting hurt—You’re hurt because of me.”

Abe sighs. “I might have overreacted a little, back there. But at least it wasn’t you. If you’d hurt yourself, I’d be really upset.”

“I’m! Upset that you got hurt!”

“I know.” Abe reaches forwards and places a hand on top of Ren’s clenched fist. “I’m sorry, Mihashi.”

Ren stares at him. Abe’s expression is somber, mouth tilted down, gaze steady. It’s familiar, echoing back to that lost game all those years ago, when they were both fifteen and young but still so desperately clinging to each other. They’ve moved past that now, grown up a bit, learned to trust in each other a bit more. But sometimes, Ren thinks they haven’t really changed at all.

“Okay,” he says. He breathes out, and lets his anger and fear dissipate slowly. He finds Abe’s eyes again, and tries for a small smile. “Okay,” he repeats.

Abe lifts his hand and brushes his fingers through Ren’s hair. Ren leans into the touch. “We’ll both be more careful next time,” Abe agrees, and Ren nods, a promise.

**Author's Note:**

> @puddingcatbae on tumblr + twitter (:


End file.
